Adina set sail from Vanuatu, destination the island of Nende in the Solomon Islands. Come 2am we were reducing sail as we began to apply the brakes so we would see our way through a pass in which a reef sat perilously beneath the water, slap bang in the middle of the pass. The town of Lata is where yachts can clear customs and quarantine but immigration has to wait until further north in Honiara, the capital, a place no-one seems to speak of too highly.
On the edge of Lata town is a jetty not suitable for yachts and furthermore anchoring is not recommended due to foul ground. Chris Bone who runs the Oceans Watch charity, which does much good in these islands, had given us a few tips and some useful contacts. We paraded Adina up and down past the jetty hoping customs would come out.
No joy. So while Tom held the boat offshore Susie took the dinghy ashore. Our lucky day, immigration were in town visiting, we could go off to anchor further south on the island and all of the officials would come together to check us in later on.
After many days of rolling at anchor in Vanuatu we found a peaceful small bay and Adina sat flat β sheer relief. The Solomon islanders are a lot lighter in complexion than the ni-Vanuatu. Betel nut is the favoured toxin resulting in virtually all adults having red lips and stained teeth. Even the houses are built differently on stilts to improve the airflow.
Here on Nende the people were friendly. Chris had told us to look out for a chap called Titus who helps Oceans Watch with a lot of their work and he duly turned up bearing a welcome packet of eggplant and green chillies. We were back in the world of people happily wanting to show you around not asking for a penny unlike those capitalist ni-Vanuatu we so love. We duly agreed to move Adina and Titus slowly but surely took over our lives, taking the helm so we could get close to the reef to try and catch fish.
